East Chicago district projects $2 million shortfall within three years; superintendent outlines phased spending cuts and capital priorities

Superintendent Dr. Borne said the School City of East Chicago expects an operating budget of $48,175,043 for fiscal 2026 and a combined operating total of $53,630,793 when federal grants are included. He told the board that recent state property-tax changes and reductions in grant funding have left the district projecting “somewhere having a shortfall of collectively $2,000,000 within the next 3 years.”

The shortfall stems from multiple factors, Dr. Borne said: a newly issued general-obligation bond that increases the district’s debt-service levy; a net federal grant loss of $127,547 this year; an approximately $372,000 distribution of local levy dollars to charter schools; and statutory changes in SEA 1 that limit referendum timing and constrain districts’ use of short-term bonds. “We must adapt and operate within this new reality,” Dr. Borne said.

Why it matters: the education fund and operations fund together cover teacher and staff…